Pumping in Surf Foil

To progress and fully enjoy your Surf foil session, Pumping will be THE technique. This key step will allow you to enjoy the foil to its full potential, and to progress in the practice by imitating professionals. Remember the video of Kai Lenny in the Fiji Islands in 2016, connecting 2 waves and surfing on an endless lagoon wave all the way to the beach. We therefore wanted to share with you some tips to learn Pumping and develop your technique.

If you want to learn how to do a Dockstart on foil, that is, to start foiling from a dock, we have written an article dedicated to this subject.

The foil has developed rapidly and become more mainstream, and the Pumping technique is increasingly practiced. This is notably due to the evolution of equipment offerings on the market, which makes Pumping increasingly easy and accessible.

1. Timing

The first step is to exit the wave at the right time. When you're starting out, it will be preferable to exit when the wave is as flat as possible. As you progress, you will be able to exit when the wave breaks or even pass over the foam of the wave you are on. The further out you exit in a critical area of the wave, the more turbulence and water movement there will be. These movements can be complicated to handle on foil and cause many imbalances.

2. Trajectory and initial speed

This initial phase is one of the most important, if not THE most important when learning to Pump. The goal is to maintain maximum speed and start Pumping at the right time. A turn that is too tight will cause you to lose speed and you will have to redouble your efforts to regain momentum on your foil. You will therefore lose energy and risk falling, because balance is more precarious at low speed. Pumping is also more technical at reduced speed because it requires a larger and more precise movement to restart it.

The ideal is therefore to lengthen your curve. To do this, you can exit the wave by following it, heading towards the channel. This will also allow you to benefit a little longer from the wave's energy. You can then start Pumping and gradually turn towards the peak. This lengthening of the curve will allow you to maintain good initial speed and start your Pumping in the best possible conditions. Another tip that can help you initiate your restart: try to be as high as possible on your Mast before engaging the Pumping phase. In other words, try to position your foil's wing as close as possible to the surface. It is indeed in this position that your foil will have the least drag.

4. Coordination

The key to Pumping lies in the coordination between the movement of your lower limbs and the transfer of mass. Your front and back legs will alternately perform a flexion then extension movement. When the back leg extends, your front leg will flex slightly to allow your foil to rise. This is the push phase. You will then press on the front leg while trying to weigh yourself down and use your weight to create more speed and direct your foil downward.

The foiler uses his entire body to create this downward and forward momentum. The push on your legs should be gradual during the descent phase and should be at its maximum when your foil is at its lowest, to give you bounce for the ascent phase. It is thanks to this last support that you will be able to lighten yourself and let your foil rise again.

You can also use your arms to help you during the lightening phase.

5. Amplitude or frequency?

What rhythm should you adopt when Pumping? It's not an exact science yet, but it seems that performing a large movement is less energy-consuming than a very rhythmic movement. Giving amplitude to your movement will indeed allow you to benefit from the rest phases provided by the increased lift of your foil when it is close to the surface.

You can however give frequency to your foil when exiting the wave in order to make it accelerate because, let's remember, speed is one of the key factors of effective Pumping.

6. Look ahead

When you start Pumping, try to look ahead, or at least at the wave or objective you are aiming for. This will force you to give your foil the forward momentum we talked about earlier. In Surf foil, raising your gaze is even more important because it will allow you to spot water movements and wave formation, and thus choose the area to reach well.

7. The connection

It is important to choose well the area where you will stop Pumping when you are trying to connect a second wave, otherwise you risk falling or losing it. The wave's energy is located in its upper third. This is the area you should aim for. In addition to being in a powerful area, you will benefit from the acceleration provided by the wave's slope. Your turn will also be important: as when exiting the wave, it should be lengthened so as not to lose speed on your foil. The push you give in your legs during this turn should be gradual and increase throughout the curve.

As in a long carve in surfing, the pressure should be increasingly marked as you progress through your curve, in order to maintain speed and therefore lift. In other words, a turn that is too tight risks landing your foil prematurely.

8. Saturation

With the speed gained, it is sometimes possible to stop Pumping because the foil has enough lift to keep you in flight: we say it saturates. This is then the ideal time to rest a little. As soon as you feel the foil losing speed and starting to land again, you can start Pumping again. When you enter this phase, place your foil close to the surface to allow it to glide longer and more easily.

Pumping requires a wing that takes off with little speed, glides for a long time and remains manageable in curves. Two ranges meet this program at SROKA.

• The UHA range is our recommendation, from the rider who is just starting out in Surf foil to the expert. The UHA 1260 is the versatile entry point, very effective at Pumping in small waves. The UHA 1100 is suitable as soon as conditions are a bit more muscular or when you're looking for more speed.
• The HA range, in 1190 L or 1190 W, belongs to the previous generation and remains a very effective alternative, the Wave version being designed for formed waves.

The general principle applies regardless of the brand: the larger the surface, the easier the takeoff and the slower the flight, so the more accessible the Pumping. The smaller it is, the more you gain in speed and radicality, but you need wave to feed it.

To practice Pumping outside of waves, the pump foil in Dockstart remains by far the best exercise: the number of repetitions per session is much higher, and everything you gain there transfers directly to the waves.

The effort required to Pump in Surf foil differs depending on the wing you will use. Wings designed for surfing are designed for their agility and to allow you to perform more radical maneuvers. However, they require a bit more effort when Pumping than wings developed for Downwind. Pumping with this type of wing is similar to the effort made during a 400m in athletics, an effort with a dominant anaerobic lactate component, and that's why connecting multiple waves turns out to be very physical.

For the most motivated of you, here are some ideas to progress on land, both physically and technically.

To work on your technique, skateboarding can be a good way to progress on dry land. However, you will need to have access to a skatepark nearby. Ramps such as half pipes and bowls are a good way to work on the muscle memory of your legs and your proprioception. The speed gain in a ramp is moreover similar to the Pumping movement in Surf foil: extension of the leg muscles in the curves when going up, flexion at the top of the ramp, then again extension in the curve when going down.

The ideal remains pumptracks, these concrete or asphalt tracks that resemble BMX terrain. The coordination between your front leg and your back leg is essential there to gain speed without pushing with your foot. Pumptracks are quite demanding physically and respiratorily and will also be perfect for working you out physically. The effort is indeed very similar to that of a connection between two waves in Surf foil. If you have a cruiser or surfskate type board, even better: they provide more instability and make you work on your placement in addition to your Pumping technique.

The Dockstart, once mastered, will also be a good way to perfect your technique when waves are not on the agenda. Find a dock near you and practice. Departures from a dock are made at lower speeds than when exiting a wave, so the technique becomes a bit more complex, but difficult training, easy connection.

Even though Pumping corresponds more to a short and intense effort of anaerobic lactate type, endurance should not be neglected to progress, especially since it will help you support long sessions. Training should therefore be comprehensive.

Are you a fan of physical preparation or cross-training? Exercises such as box jumps and burpees will be ideal for working on explosiveness and cardio at home.

If you want to work more specifically on your respiratory capacity, interval training, more commonly called high-intensity interval training, in running is a very good way to progress quickly. The best is to use the stairs near your home, this will also allow you to work on your amplitude.

To summarize

1. Choose the right timing
2. Remember to lengthen your curve when exiting the wave to maintain speed
3. Engage your body forward through a slight imbalance to create speed
4. Coordinate the movement of your legs with the phases of body lightening and pressure
5. Remember to give amplitude
6. Look ahead
7. Aim for the upper third of the wave you want to connect
8. There you go, you just caught a second wave

If you have any further questions on this subject, or for any other request, please feel free to contact us.